𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘶𝘦𝘮

𝐈𝐈𝐈. 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐒

Y/N POV

I wrap a gust of wind around Pitou's feet, making it act like a forcefield to stop her from going anywhere. Out in the distance, I see Youpi galloping over to us, Pouf slung over on his back. A weird feeling runs through my mind. I touch my forehead lightly in confusion. Is this . . . pity?

I shake my head, trying to throw away those thoughts. I undo the forcefield around the gigantic building, and my headache starts to go away. Meruem walks in. I redo the forcefield, stopping him, and the buzzing coming back. It stops the ache for a while when I unwrap Pitou's feet. 

"You told me once that you could heal others. Can you?" I direct the question towards Pitou. She nods. "Go fix Pouf."

She looks to Meruem for permission, and he nods. She nods as well and then heads off to meet the other two Royal Guards, jumping across the land like a kitten. 

I look back to Meruem, my legs fluttering in the air as I kick them absentmindedly. He's staring up at me, his wrath visible in his eyes. 

"So. You wanted to fight. Come down then," Meruem demands.

I obey him and land softly on the floor. 

"So, what do you want the deals to be?" Meruem asks. 

"Deals?" I repeat in confusion as I stretch my wings a little. The cold, brisk wind of the night ruffles the feathers. 

"I'm not fighting you for free," Meruem snarls. 

I cross my arms. "Maybe you're smarter than you look. No matter, though. I doubt that I'm stronger than you, but it wouldn't help to find out how strong I am." 

"So why would you kidnap us?"

"Well, you wouldn't have agreed to the fight if I had just straight-up asked, would you?" I shrug as Meruem stays silent. "That's what I thought. Anyway; the deals. It's this country. If I win, I get to rule and you can leave or stay. If I lose, then you get to rule and you can kill me or keep me or whatever. And I'll try not to object." 

"You have to undo the forcefield," Meruem adds. 

"Done." 

Meruem grins crazily at my answer and at me and I smile right back, when he starts walking up to me. I wrinkle my brow in confusion when his chest meets mine and I feel a sharp tap at the back of my wings. I freeze and look behind me to see his sharp tail at the nape of my wings. "One move," He croons. "One move and your wings are gone."

Goddammit, I curse to myself. This is what you get for being cocky, Y/N. 

I groan, my head lowering until it finds purchase against Meruem's chest. I refuse to look at his eyes right now. I don't want to look at the perfect image of triumph. The Royal Guards walk in, and a healed Shaiapouf scowls at me. I turn my head to beam at him with closed eyes and wave in mock excitement at him. He sneers and walks in with Youpi and Pitou. They fall to a stop around a meter behind us and look at their king. I lean forward again against Mereum.

"So, what are you going to do with them, my king?" Pouf spits the words nastily, and even someone blind could tell the words are directed at me. Well, at least he's being slightly respectful?

"Lock them up," Meruem commands. "I'll deal with them in the morning. Also; who uncuffed them?" 

None of them raise their hands, and I get annoyed. Might as well take the blame, might score some points with Pitou. Then I could sugar up to her and escape. And if that didn't work, I could just blackmail her with this information. A win-win either way.

"I unlocked myself," I shrug. 

Meruem raises an eyebrow, then starts laughing, before quieting down. He grips my chin and makes me look up at him. I stare fiercely and he does the same. "Don't lie to me, Y/N. Especially when I just proved all of your sculpted lies wrong," he hisses. 

"I'm not lying," I snarl right back in his face. "There's quite literally no point in that. Now, stop touching my chin."

I push him off lightly, so my wings don't get shredded by his tail, which is still hovering behind me. He barely stumbles. In fact, he doesn't budge. I didn't expect much, though. All he does is let go of my chin. 

Pettily, he wipes that hand on a piece of silk around his arms. "You're acting as if you weren't just leaning on me, Y/N," he croons, his fingers daintily trailing down one side of my face.

I click my tongue and whip my head in the other direction. 

"Tch. Youpi - lock them up. Same room as before." 

"Yes, sir," Youpi obeys. He harshly grabs my wrists and pushes me forward. Despite how balanced I thought I had been, I trip over my feet a little at the sudden movement. I hiss a little at the small sting in my ankles, but in the end, I go with the red animal without complaint. 

I fucking hate deals, so why was I so foolish enough to make one? I berate myself. But I'm a person of their word. But loopholes . . . how will I exploit the loopholes I just put in my own deal?

please remember that
Y/N is non - binary